They estimate that the result "shows a clear commitment of citizens of Serbia to the pro-EU path."
"The most important conclusion after the victory of Prime
Minister Vucic is that the Serbian people continued to show
determination to go toward the European Union," said Edward Joseph, an
analyst with the Institute of Current World Affairs.

He told
Voice of America this is all the more important when the alternative is
the leader of the SRS Vojislav Seselj, who was recently acquitted by the
Hague Tribunal.

According to Joseph, it is important that
citizens of Serbia "rejected the path to Russia and clearly supported
the continuation of the path towards the EU."

Daniel Serwer
from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies said
that he expected Vucic to win, and convincingly.

He, however,
believes it is more important to pay attention to others who have
received votes in the election, and taking this into account - "true
democracy is not yet present in Serbia."

"I do not see a viable
opposition that can be in power. For me, democracy is when you have a
real possibility of change of government, and I do not see this
possibility in Serbia today," Serwer said.

This analyst thinks that neither Seselj nor will the divided liberal democrats will come to power.

Serwer noted that this was "not Vucic's fault" but rather "a consequence of his success."

"I am not against Vucic, but that is how democracy functions," Tanjug reported him as telling Voice of America.

Serwer also believes that Vucic should now use the election victory to
take concrete steps to demonstrate the commitment to the West. The first
among them, he suggested, could Serbia "imposing sanctions against
Russia" over Ukraine.

The Claim: Vote Leave says the UK
will be obliged to pay £1.8bn by 2020 to encourage Albania, Macedonia,
Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey to join the EU.Reality check verdict: Over
a seven year period, £1.2bn of the UK's contributions to the EU Budget
will go to seven candidate states. The UK committed another £250m
towards helping Turkey support Syrian refugees for two years and might
commit more in the future.

Vote
Leave says the UK government will pay Albania, Macedonia, Montenegro,
Serbia and Turkey a total of £1.2bn between 2014 and 2020 as part of the
EU fund to help these countries to join the EU.

They say that
the UK will pay Turkey a further £640m "as part of the recent EU-Turkey
deal designed to facilitate Turkish accession to the EU", bringing the
total to £1.84bn.
In 2014 the EU agreed to use a total of €11.7bn
(£9.1bn) from its seven-year budget 2014-2020 to help seven EU
candidate countries - Albania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Turkey,
Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo - make political and economic reforms.
Turkey, the largest of the seven countries, will receive a total
of €4.5bn over the seven year period. Albania will receive €649m.
On
the basis of the 2014-2020 EU fund, Vote Leave calculated the UK's
share of the total the EU is spending on reforms in those seven
countries.
The UK's contribution to the EU Budget varies from
year to year. It has been around 12% to 13% of the total in recent years
and the Treasury says it was 12.57% in 2015. Vote Leave used the UK's
2015 share of the total and 2014 exchange rates and arrived at the
figure of £1.2bn as the UK contribution to the programme.
Of
the seven countries helped by this EU fund, Turkey has progressed
furthest in its pursuit of EU membership, but it is nevertheless unlikely to join in the next 10 years.

Deal on refugees

The
second part of this claim, that the EU recently agreed a deal with
Turkey "to facilitate Turkish accession to the EU" is incorrect.
The
EU and Turkey signed a deal in November 2015 to support Syrian refugees
in Turkey in an attempt to reduce the number of refugees crossing into
Greece. The EU will provide €3bn over the next two years for this
programme, €1bn of which will come from the EU budget and the rest from
contributions from member states according to the size of their
economies.
Germany, which has the biggest economy, will pay €428m, while the UK will pay €328m (£250m).
The UK's contribution will count towards the UK's aid target of 0.7% of national income.
In
addition, the EU promised an extra €3bn for Turkey by 2018 if the first
programme for supporting Syrian refugees is successfully completed.
There is no detail on whether this would come out of the EU Budget or be
met by bilateral contributions.Read more: The facts behind claims in the EU debate

Friday, April 29, 2016

After nine months on the run from his life jail sentence, Albanian police have confirmed at Arben Frroku is under arrest in Holland.

Gjergj ErebaraBIRN
TiranaArben Frroku behind bars | Photo by : LSA
Albanian police have confirmed that Arben Frroku - who has been on the run since June 2015 - is under arrest in Holland, having been identified by his fingerprints while living under false documents.
Confirmation came after former prime minister Sali Berisha claimed that the Albanian police were deliberately not collaborating with the Dutch authorities on the atter in order to avoid his extradition.
“Do you know that Arben Frroku has been arrested for two months now - but the Ministry of Interior is not sending any confirmation of this?” Berisha told an interview with News 24 television.
Albanian police on Thursday confirmed Frroku's arrest in Holland - but did not say when the arrest actually occurred.
“Interpol in The Hague announced today at 17:15 to Interpol Tirana that Arben Frroku, sentenced by Albanian Justice to life imprisonment, was identified and arrested,” the Albanian police press release noted.
“Interpol Tirana had been in contact during the last few days with... The Netherlands regarding this issue, but only this afternoon (28 April) came confirmation that the person arrested for using fake documents under the name 'Renato Tsepa', was in fact Arben Frroku,” the press release added.
Frroku was sentenced to life in prison last year for murdering Dritan Lamaj, a police officer, on the evening of 24 February 2013.
He was arrested the following day in Thessaloniki, Greece. The businessman and head of a political party that his brother, Mark Frroku, later headed, pleaded not guilty. His lawyer claimed he was far away from the murder scene at that time.
The Court of First Instance in Tirana found him not guilty on April 3, 2015. However the Court of Appeals of Serious Crimes overturned the verdict on 29 June, 2015, found him guilty and sentenced him to life in jail. In the meantime, he had left the country, however.
Frroku’s younger brother, Mark, who was an MP in parliament until he resigned last year, was arrested in April 2015 for perjury concerning allegations of a fake murder plot against two MPs, but also based on an arrest warrant from Belgium where the authorities seek him for a murder that took place in 1999.
A Brussels court has ruled that he was guilty of the premeditated murder of an Albanian citizen, Aleksander Kurti, in March 1999, in collaboration with three other men.

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS BERLIN — Apr 29, 201
The Latest on Europe's response to migrants (all times local):

Albania's Defense Ministry says the navy and law enforcement authorities have held joint sea military exercises in preparation of a possible influx of refugees.

A statement Friday said some navy ships held the codenamed "Vlora Sarex 16" exercises at Vlora Bay, 145 kilometers (90 miles) south of the capital, Tirana, simulating "prevention of human trafficking and stopping traffickers ... and also a search-and-rescue operation."

Albania, a NATO member since 2009, borders Greece, where tens of thousands of migrants have been stranded after the closure of the Balkan corridor, and Macedonia.

Though it hasn't been a transit route so far, Albania is cooperating with the European agencies to prepare for a possible flow of migrants.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Serbia is a neutral country that relies on the development of multidirectional foreign policy to maintain rapport with all global powers, Serbian Defense Minister Zoran Djordjevic told Sputnik.

"Our foreign policy rests on four pillars — Moscow, Brussels, Washington and Beijing. Also, our military cooperation is built on a principal of neutrality. We try to maintain good relationships with all states."

Since 2014, NATO has been building up its military presence in Europe, particularly in Eastern European countries bordering Russia, using Moscow's alleged interference in Ukraine as a pretext for the move.

"The power of weaponry today is the single greatest problem that our world has, and it’s not global warming like our president said, it’s the power of weapons – in particular nuclear weapons," said Trump.

Washington foreign policy establishment appointees have scorned the presidential nominee for being a foreign policy lightweight, after Trump called for a reworking of America’s commitment to NATO and the normalizing of relations with Russia.

The billionaire nominee received even more scorn from Beltway think tank "experts" following a keynote speech on foreign policy Wednesday before the National Press Club at Washington, DC’s Mayflower hotel.

The candidate’s speech called for a generally less interventionist use of the military, with a move away from influencing and policing world policy, providing security to European and Asian countries, and committing to regional conflicts with no endgame strategy.

Trump’s calls for non-intervention were at times at odds with his muscular foreign policy propositions, including the wiping out of Daesh "so fast that they won’t know what hit them," and plans to revamp the military, focusing on upgrading the US Navy and nuclear arsenal, in addition to addressing troop shortages.

The candidate’s foreign policy stance focused not only on military policy, but also on economic and trade policy. The candidate’s stated main objection to NATO is that the United States provides 78% of the funds and troops. Trump listed similar objections to the US military presence in Asia. He called for a renegotiation of trade deals, to bring an end to the $500 billion trade imbalance between the US and China.

In response, mainstream analysts fired back at Trump, saying that he uses "unpredictability" to mask the fact that he doesn’t have a plan. Trump responded to these charges by saying, "I know foreign policy, I know foreign policy so well, believe me, I went to the best schools and I’m a very smart guy."

Responses to his statement were, for the most part, unprintable, as Trump has already announced that "I have the best words."

Himarrioton Society of America"We the HSA are calling for a stop to the illegal and inhumane acts of the Construction Inspectorate and the intimidation practices by State Police against the people of Dhrimadhes and Vuno. We ask the entire Himarrioton Community, wherever they presently reside to UNITE and STAND UP against the destruction of our patriots’ homes and properties. A fully corrupted state which is headed by a criminal minded government that does not recognize any of our legal and property rights and year after year and time after time violates our human rights at will, has no legal authority over freedom loving people of Himara.We must put a stop to this government sponsored vandalism, NOW!!!"

Trump has made it a point to compare himself, and his struggle with the Republican Party establishment, to the challenges Senator Sanders faces within the Democratic Party, suggesting that they are both treated unfairly.
“Bernie Sanders has been treated terribly by the Democrats—both with delegates & otherwise,” Trump tweeted Tuesday. “He should show them, and run as an Independent!”

Following the tweet, Jane Sanders, the candidate’s wife, was interviewed on television, stating that her husband will not “play the role of spoiler,” running as an Independent.

Candidate Sanders, who was an Independent in the Senate, also asserted that he will continue to run as a Democrat.

On Sunday, he spoke out about his unfair treatment at the hands of the Democratic Party establishment.

"So it sounds like the party, though, you feel like it's been fair to you?" the interviewer asked Sanders. The candidate greeted the slights with a shrug.

Neck and Neck: Clinton, Trump Take 50 Percent National Lead in Latest Poll
"No. I think we have — look, we're taking on the establishment. That's pretty clear," the Senator responded. "The fact that we had debates that were scheduled — pretty clearly, to my mind — at a time when there would be minimal viewing audience, et cetera, et cetera. But you know, that's the way it is. We knew we were taking on the establishment. And here we are. So not complaining."

Tuesday’s tweet is not the first time Trump has mentioned the unfair treatment of Sanders. Earlier this month he said, “week after week — he wins, he wins, he wins, he wins — then I watch you and I watch all of the pundits and they say ‘but he can’t win.’ You know why? It’s stacked against him. It really is. It’s stacked against him. In his case it’s super delegates, in my case it’s the obvious.”

Trump has also previously hinted at the possibility of his own Independent run, and, if Sanders did the same, the four-way race would be unprecedented in the history of American politics.

Afterrankingasthe countrywith the highest levelracistfor 2013inEurope(according to theWashingtonPost)Albania isrankedthe first country inEuropeforthe vulnerabilityhumane

Albania turns out to be one of the countries most exposed to natural disasters. According to the study World Risk Report, our country has the lowest security not only in the Balkans, but in all of Europe.

Organizations that cooperation with the United Nations University and the Institute for Environment and Security, in its latest report on security in the world, providing for lapsi.al by journalist Vincent Triest, ranked Albania 37th place.

According to preliminary estimates, the electoral coalition formed around Prime Minister Aleksander Vucic's Progressive Party won about 50% of the vote, with Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic's Socialist Party coming in second, with about 13%. The anti-EU Radical Party came in third, with 8%, clearing the 5% threshold for entry into parliament. The leaders of several parties that failed to reach the threshold have launched complaints about vote rigging.

A total of 3,270 candidates from 20 political parties and electoral coalitions participated in the contest for Serbia's 250-seat National Assembly. The final results will be announced in the next few days.

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic speaks during a news conference in Belgrade, Serbia, Saturday,
Serbian PM: Progressive Party’s Victory to Fast-Track EU Integration
Commenting on the election results, Expert magazine contributor Gevorg Mirzayan explained there are signs that Serbia will attempt to continue its multi-vector foreign policy course. The main question, he suggests, is whether this will actually be possible.
"On the one hand, this course implies an unconditional line toward joining the European Union, with both Vucic and Dacic advocates of European integration. Another element will be [the continuation of] policy in favor of maximum association with NATO – that is, rejection of formal entry into the alliance, combined with the highest possible level of cooperation."

"It's true, some experts believe that joining NATO is a de facto prerequisite for accession into the EU, but Serbs, understandably, are not ready to join an organization which led several wars against it in the 90s, and provided direct assistance in the business of breaking up Yugoslavia. It's most likely that this convergence will take place gradually – the early elections themselves came about after Serbs took to the streets following the ratification of another agreement with the alliance."

Kosovo

Sooner or Later, Serbia Will Have to Make a Choice: NATO or Russia
"Undoubtedly," Mirzayan writes, "Vucic and Dacic should expect even more serious protests, and not only over the measures to reduce social spending that will be required under the agreement with the IMF. At some point, the Serbian government will have to decide what to do with Kosovo. Right now, the Euro-integrationists, giving up their president and their generals, continue to maintain that Kosovo is an integral part of Serbia. However, to enter the European Union, Belgrade will have to recognize the region's independence – 'special conditions' on the question of its sovereignty are out of the question."
"It's possible that the Euro-integrationists are hoping that in time – while negotiations continue, Serbs will come to terms with the idea that Kosovo has become an independent territory. For this reason, both Brussels and Belgrade will postpone, as much as possible, the Kosovo dilemma; it should be decided as the last or next-to-last step prior to the country's accession to the EU."

Ultimately, the analyst notes, "if the social mood changes, there will be a referendum. If not, there will be a decision at the executive level (along the lines of the Montenegro case, where the head of state recently decided to take his country into NATO, in spite of popular attitudes)."

Alleged Ex-Bandit Thaci Inaugurated as New President of Kosovo
"In this situation, Belgrade will have to dismiss its claims not only over Kosovo, but also over support for Serbs in the region around Kosovska Mitrovica," the ethnic Serb-populated municipality in northern Kosovo.
"Densely concentrated in the north, and having a common border with Serbia, these ethnic Serbs refuse to submit to Pristina, and today may be the most striking embodiment of the Serbian national spirit. However, if Belgrade establishes real border controls and stops supplying them with the necessities (from food to electricity) the inhabitants of this territory will have a very difficult time maintaining their independence."

Moscow's New Options

At the same time that it seeks to join the European Union and dialogue with NATO, Belgrade will also attempt to build relations with Moscow. "Today's Serbia needs Russia not only for economic reasons (Serbian companies are active in the Russian market, particularly in the export of food), but politically as well."

This, Mirzayan notes, stems from the fact that Serbia's leaders understand that the EU fears Russia using the country as a foothold in the region. The hope, he notes, is that "the EU will be wary of excessive convergence between Serbia and Russia, and will therefore become more tolerant and supportive of the Serbian leadership, perhaps providing some additional financial support, or accelerating Serbia's entry into the EU."

Serbia EU Entry Hinges on Compliance With Political Criteria
At the same time, "in negotiations with Russian authorities, Foreign Minister Dacic will recall the 'Russian-Serbian brotherhood', and will hint at a willingness to intensify political cooperation in exchange for investments."
"Meanwhile, Serbian Radical Party's Vojislav Seselj's election [as an MP] will somewhat complicate the prime minister's game. And it's not even about the fact that the opposition now has a brilliant orator in the assembly, or that Seselj enjoys significant support among the population…It's more to do with the fact that Russia traditionally does not like multi-vector policy."

"Until recently," Mirzayan recalled, "Moscow found itself in a desperate situation in the Serbian field; the country lacked a concrete anti-EU opposition, and President Tomislav Nikolic was only conditionally pro-Russian, and had little decision-making authority. Now, the unconditionally pro-Russian Vojislav Seselj has emerged. Yes, with only 8 percent of the vote, but he is an understandable and pleasant partner for Moscow. And it's possible that Aleksander Vucic will now have to compete for attention and support from Russia."

The Swiss senator and former Council of Europe (CoE) Special Rapporteur, spoke a day after the killing of Bedri Curri, a former KLA member and potential witness for the court. Curri's body was found last week near Glogovac in Kosovo.

"Witness protection is the biggest problem. We have information that some have already been killed in order to cover up the traces of the crimes," said Marty, according to Radio Kontakt Plus, that was quoting Pristina-based daily Bota Sot.

Unnamed sources in Pristina said that Curri, a former member of the ethnic Albanian "Kosovo Liberation Army" (KLA) was a prosecution witness in trials to be conducted before the special war crimes court for KLA crimes, that will be located in The Hague.

During the Kosovo conflict, Curri was a member of the 114th Brigade of the KLA called "Fehmi Landrovci" where his direct superior was his Ajvaz Berisha, known also as "Commander Tiger."

After the war, Berisha was an advisor in the Ministry of Trade of Kosovo, a professor at the Faculty of Physical Education, and is now Kosovo's consul in Frankfurt, Germany, the paper said. Curri was killed with a shot to the head, not far from a school in the village of Gornja Korotica.

Dick Marty - who in 2010 investigated allegations of KLA's illicit trade in human organs harvested from kidnapped Serb and other civilians - now warned about the "incompetence" of EULEX and UNMIK - EU and UN missions in Kosovo - to protect witnesses there and prevent information leakage.

The problem of witness protection was present during the only two trials for KLA commanders before the Hague Tribunal. Ramush Haradinaj and Fatmir Limaj were both acquitted for lack of evidence.

At least five witnesses were allegedly killed when it comes to the Haradinaj case. Tribunal's chief prosecutors, Carla del Ponte and later Serge Brammertz, on several occasions complained to the UN Security Council about problems related to witness protection.

The special court for crimes of the KLA was formed on the basis of Marty's report on ties between key KLA commanders with crimes and organized crime. The first indictments are expected by the end of this year.

TIRANA, Albania – Albania's main opposition Democratic Party is boycotting parliament this week in response to the suspension from parliament of its former leader, Sali Berisha.

Lawmaker Berisha was suspended last week after he urged citizens to arm themselves, saying the government could not protect them.

Gun ownership is currently illegal in Albania and calls to break the law could result in a jail sentence of up to 10 years.

Democrats' leader Lulzim Basha on Monday said they decided on "a full and overall boycott of parliamentary activity this week" accusing the government of crime links. The boycott will affect justice reforms that the European Union and the United States have been pressing Tirana for and which are needed before Albania can launch full membership negotiations with the EU.

It has been more than three years without a Greek-American in the senate, since Olympia Snowe’s term from Maine ended in January of 2013. That could change soon with Chrysovalantis Kefalas.

Kefalas, a 35-year old lawyer from Baltimore, hopes to run in the 2016 Senate race for the state of Maryland with the Republican party. The Greek-American had been the Deputy Speechwriter for the U.S. Attorney General between 2013 and 2014, after serving for almost six years as a Trial and Appellate attorney at the DOJ.

“I have the experience and the leadership necessary to renew the American Dream and to restore the middle class in Maryland and the US. I have served the people of Maryland my entire life and I am ready and able and have the right vision to do so again,” he said.

A senate race for a Republican in the state of Maryland is arguably a difficult task. In fact, the last time Maryland had a Republican Senator was 1987 with Charles Matthias. Kefalas however, believes that he is capable of working with people from both parties to advance Maryland and to restore what he sees as a weakened United States both internally and as a global power.

“I think that starts with restoring manufacturing in Maryland in the United States by addressing tax and regulatory policy that harms growth, that stifles investment and keeps America from leading the world in producing the next wave of innovations and opportunities for everyone in this country,” he said.

Manufacturing is a core part of Kefalas’s campaign. He has served as Vice-President of the National Association of Manufacturers since August 2014, something that he says allows him to work for an industry he calls the “foundation of the American economy” that touches everyone in Maryland and the U.S..

Manufacturers are not the only group of people he is interested in helping. Kefalas’ grandparents as well as his father are Greek and the Senate hopeful noted that with the exception of last year he has been visiting Greece for every year for the past 10 years to meet with his cousins on the islands of Rhodes and Karpathos. But ancestry is not only a matter of familiarity and pride for the candidate.

“We have 3 million people of Greek descent in the United States and not a single Greek-American U.S. senator. We are currently relying on others to represent our interest in the world’s greatest deliberative body and I think that is actually shameful. I think we as a community deserve and should have more say in our future. We should be able to have someone who is capable of fighting for our issues and our priorities,” he said.

A specific point Kefalas touched upon was Turkey and its record in human rights. He asserted that politicians talk about Cyprus and the problem of patriarchy. However he would work with people from both parties to create consensus to issues that our relevant not only for the Greel people, but people in a civilized world that seeks to advance human rights and religious liberty. As such, his presence in the Senate, woule be a “game-changer” in pressuring world leaders to move forward in these issues.

Kefalas is a Greek Orthodox Christian. He has also been openly gay, a choice the Greek Orthodox church considers a sin. While, he claimed that he has never been asked by a voter who he loves, he does believe that having fought for marriage equality as a Republican demonstrates he has the moral courage and the willingness to lead when difficult decisions need to be made.

While the United States Supreme Court ruled in favor of gay marriage across the country in June 2015, Greece recently legislated a same-sex cohabitation agreement which gives same-sex couples certain legal rights. Kefalas viewed the legislation as a positive step for strengthening civil liberties in Greece.

The Greek Orthodox Church condemned the legislation while some individual clerics publicly bashed homosexuals in anticipation of the vote in parliament. Kefalas who is a faithful Orthodox Christian clearly has a different stance on the matter. However, he seeks to remind people that marriage equality is an issue that cannot change as quickly.

“I don’t think we can expect an institution that has been around for thousands of years to change overnight. Families do not change overnight,” he said.

In his view, people who share his conviction should be understanding of principled disagreements and seek to change minds.

Aside from the present, Kefalas notes that he draws inspiration from his Greek ancestry to push forward his campaign team.

“I continuouslly tell my team ‘let’s look at the example of my ancestors to forge a path for us forward’. It’s not necessarily a visible part of the campaign people see, but my campaign team hears it all the time,” he said.

Qemal
was sitting in the shade of a peach tree in the village of Gërdec,
trying to find a buyer for a dishevelled donkey munching on the kerbside
grass nearby.

When
I stopped to chat, the father of four explained he was having to sell
his animal because he was broke. ‘There is no state help here,’ he said.
‘If you do not work you die.’

No
wonder both owner and beast looked a bit disconsolate. Then I asked
Qemal whether his nation might be a role model for Britain.

He
looked at me as if I was mad, then gave a big gap-toothed grin. ‘That
sounds very weird,’ he said. ‘This is a very poor place. The situation
is very bad. Why would you want to follow us?’

A good question.

+5

Qemal was sitting in the shade of a
peach tree in the village of Gërdec, trying to find a buyer for a
dishevelled donkey munching on the kerbside grass nearby

Albania
is an impoverished Balkan state, still struggling to escape the legacy
of cruel communism and infamous for crime and corruption. Britain, by
contrast, is one of the world’s richest nations, the birthplace of the
industrial revolution and mother of democracy.

Yet
that is precisely the preposterous proposal put forward last week by
Michael Gove, when the Justice Secretary indicated Albania was an
unlikely inspiration for post-Brexit Britain.

Never
mind that Britain has 20 times more people – and they are on average
almost ten times richer; indeed, the Albanian economy is smaller than
the size of Tesco. Nor that the Balkan state remains heavily reliant on
small family farms while Britain is a leading global financial centre.

For
when Mr Gove gazes across the Adriatic, he sees an alluring vision of
Britain’s future if our nation opts to abandon Brussels in June. In a
keynote Vote Leave speech, he highlighted Albania as part of a
continent-wide free trade zone yet supposedly free from meddlesome
interference.

That
bemused donkey-vendor was far from the only local here to laugh at talk
of Britain emulating their country. ‘This is just a joke, surely,’ said
Donika Mici, the nation’s biggest shoe exporter with five factories and
1,000 workers. ‘You can’t want to be like Albania. We are a democracy in
name only.

‘It
would be crazy to follow us. You respect the law, you follow the rules,
you start work in the morning instead of drinking coffee in cafes. We
need to follow your country.’

There
were similar sentiments from Zef Preci, former government minister and
executive director of the Albanian Centre for Economic Research, who
struggled to stop smirking at the idea anyone might want to mimic an
‘Albanian model’. ‘It’s a joke – we do not even have a model,’ he said,
pointing out his nation was responsible for just 0.1 per cent of
European trade. ‘We are like a colonial economy that relies on cheap
labour and cannot exploit its own resources.’

This
is not entirely true. Two years ago, hundreds of armed police backed by
helicopter gunships stormed a mountain village employing 3,000 people
to grow marijuana for the European market.

+5

Almost half of Albania's population live below the global poverty line of $5 a day

After
a five-day advance against villagers armed with an anti-aircraft gun,
grenades, mortars and machine guns, the police destroyed more than
80,000 marijuana plants and 23 tons of cannabis. An official report
suggested the illicit enterprise was equivalent to about one third of
Albania’s GDP.

But
certainly Albania has struggled to escape the legacy of Europe’s most
paranoid and suffocating Communist dictatorship, which cut off the
country from outsiders before coming to an end 25 years ago.

There
are few visible signs of those 45 years when private cars were banned
and even the number of chickens a family could own was controlled by the
state, beside thousands of concrete bunkers littering the landscape and
a derelict rocket-shaped museum to former despot Enver Hoxha.

Yet
several analysts told me that the old mindset remains strong despite
the transition to democracy, with endemic corruption and politics used
often for self-enrichment.

‘We are still ruled by the past,’ said Preci. ‘People taste freedom but we do not have the institutions yet to deliver it.’

The
country frequently belies its bad reputation thanks to its friendly
people, fine food and glorious scenery, encompassing rugged mountains
and golden beaches. But these deep-rooted issues explain its struggle to
develop.

Club
Med, for instance, gave up on a £50 million resort plan after a
five-year dispute over land ownership, while the cheap flight revolution
that transformed travel failed to touch down in Albania.

And
one American billionaire gave up on discussions to invest in the oil
industry earlier this year, reportedly fuming it was ‘easier to do
business in Iraq than Albania’.

I
apprehended one of the most notorious political operators in a smart
hotel, a wealthy man said by local journalists to be more powerful than
any of the organised crime chiefs. He shook hands, but when I started
asking questions he just stared at me then strode off with his burly
minder.

So
yes, it may have an enviable top rate of tax at 23 per cent (a recent
rise from the previous ten per cent flat tax, a progressive measure I
heard blamed on the prime minister’s pal Tony Blair). But for all its
quirky charms, Albania seems a strange place to pick as anyone’s
post-Brexit nirvana – especially when growth has slackened; a quarter of
the population emigrated; and almost half those remaining live below
the global poverty line of $5 a day.

+5

Michael Gove, the Justice Secretary, indicated last week that Albania was an unlikely inspiration for post-Brexit Britain

In
Ndroq, a short drive from the capital Tirana, I found 75-year-old Vushe
sitting on the ground outside a whitewashed bungalow as she cradled a
sick baby with sunken eyes. Nearby, an outside toilet stank of urine.

‘Look at us – this is no life,’ she said. ‘There are no jobs. We do not even have enough food to eat, so we go without bread.’

Over
the road, her neighbour Serme, 64, was collecting firewood to cook
dinner with her grandchildren. ‘We are poor people who would die to get
to Western Europe,’ she said.

And
there’s the rub. The Out crowd do not really seek to emulate this
impoverished corner of our Continent. But they are struggling badly to
define the shape of Britain if it quits the Brussels club, stumbling
with each flawed example they pick from Canada to Norway.

Mr
Gove highlighted Albania alongside other strange paragons of peace and
prosperity – Serbia, Bosnia and Ukraine – because they have access to
European markets without having to accept all those pesky rules from
Brussels pen-pushers.

Yet
Albania’s deal took six years to negotiate with the EU, which does not
bode well for British stability. There is no free movement only because
visa-free travel was rejected. And ironically, almost all Albanians see
this as a stepping-stone to the full membership they crave so badly.

Ilir
Zhilla, a businessman and former head of the Albanian Chamber of
Commerce, told me they sought integration with the EU because they
wanted the imposition of higher standards.

‘By joining we will get pressure put on us to drive reforms and do lots of good things for our country,’ he said.

This
puts a different spin on that ‘Albanian model’. Yet for all the mirth
this provoked from rural donkey-traders through to owners of the biggest
businesses, the debate over Britain’s role in the world should not be a
laughing matter.

Perhaps
the Brexit campaigners should listen to Besart Kadia, British-educated
director of the Foundation for Economic Freedom think-tank, which
promotes free-market policies in Tirana.

‘You
can’t compare the countries for many reasons,’ he said. ‘But we are
acting out of a sense of inferiority to improve Albania – so they are
not doing any favours for Britain with this absurd comparison.’

You would need the stubbornness of a mule to disagree.

Voting to stay? Then prepare to obey EU's every whim

By Kwasi Kwarteng

If
the bookies are right, on Friday, June 24, the British people will wake
up to find themselves committed to membership of the EU. This will be a
momentous step, and there will be consequences.

The
EU will rightly say to Britain: ‘You have had a long debate. You have
voted with your eyes open and you have voted to stay with us, within the
EU family.’

After
three years of speculation, and a four-month campaign, those countries
will have no interest in our ‘plans’ for substantial EU reform. Why
should they?

Their
attitude will simply be that of neurotic adults who have grown tired of
having their time wasted by squabbling children. ‘You have had your
argument, now please keep quiet,’ they could justifiably say.

Or,
as the Labour Prime Minister Clement Attlee once said to the Left-wing
intellectual Harold Laski: ‘A period of silence from you would be
welcome.’

+5

If the bookies are right, on Friday,
June 24, the British people will wake up to find themselves committed to
membership of the EU. This will be a momentous step, and there will be
consequences

The truth is, if we vote to stay, Britain will have no bargaining position whatsoever.

The
EU will be able to push through any policy, safe in the knowledge that
we will continue to be members under almost any circumstances. There
will be no more negotiation, no debate, no treaty reforms, at least for a
very long time.

Not known for its lack of confidence, the EU will take an ‘In’ vote as a ringing endorsement of the project.

ANY
subsequent British complaints will be taken as seriously as the whining
of a small child in the back of the family car, crying as daddy drives
purposefully to the holiday resort.

Many
people in my Spelthorne constituency and beyond say to me that they
were only voting to stay within the EEC, the European Economic
Community, in the referendum of 1975. They ‘just didn’t know’ it would
turn into the European Union.

Of
course, they are right. At a time when we commemorate the 400th
anniversary of Shakespeare’s death, you don’t need his mastery of the
English language to understand that the phrase ‘European Union’ has a
very different meaning from ‘European Economic Community’.

The
organisation we know as the EU changed beyond recognition between the
British referendum of June 1975, and the launching of the European Union
17 years later in 1992. Who knows where we will be in another 17 years’
time, in 2033?

+5

UK Work and pensions minister Priti Patel speaks at a 'Vote Leave' public meeting in Birmingham

This is why, after much consideration, I have decided to vote to leave the EU.

Anyone
who wants to reconsider the terms must surely vote ‘Out’. The idea that
they will pull up a drawbridge, cast us out into the mid-Atlantic and
never speak to us again is not credible.

These
islands are not going anywhere. The EU isn’t going anywhere either.
Whatever happens, we will have to have some kind of relationship with
it.

Discussion,
compromise, trade deals, arguments – all these things are part of an
ongoing relationship. Signing up to the EU as it is, under the current
terms, is simply a rubber stamp for the status quo.

Pretending
that you can renegotiate terms, once you have signed up to the
programme, is rather like trying to reopen discussion about your
employment contract on your first day at work.

The time for negotiation is before you start work.

Once you sign up, you simply start your new job and try to make things work out.

If
we do vote to remain, this is exactly the approach that I, as a Member
of Parliament, will adopt. It’s no use crying after the event.

If we sign up, we have got to make the best of it.

We
will do best simply by being reliable and obedient members of the club,
on their terms which, of course, they can change at their own will.

Russia’s Election Commission Registers No Fraud During Serbian ElectionsSerbia is holding snap parliamentary elections on Sunday, with pundits describing the poll as a litmus test of Prime Minister Aleksander Vucic's pro-Brussels course. Russian analysts joined their foreign colleagues in predicting a victory for the incumbent from the Serbian Progressive Party, who assumed office last April, and initiated the elections two years ahead of schedule.

Vucic's campaign has stressed that membership in the European Union is his party's key goal, but has also said that it wants to preserve good relations with Russia.

In his in-depth analysis for the Russian business magazine Expert, translated and adapted by Oriental Review, Belgrade-based contributor Sergei Belous argues that as the North Atlantic Alliance continues its expansion, while relations between Moscow and the military bloc deteriorate, Serbia will have to make a choice: to ally with NATO, which bombed the country less than two decades ago, or to return to its historical alliance with Russia.

"We intentionally set the bar too high for the Serbs to comply. They need some bombing and that's what they are going to get."

"This," the journalist writes, "was how then-US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright described the draft peace agreement devoted to the resolution of the Kosovo crisis in Rambouillet in February 1999, speaking to journalists on the sidelines (off the record, of course)."

The new draft, Belous recalled, included provisions to see the deployment of NATO troops not only in Kosovo, but throughout the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. According to the agreement, the troops were to be given unrestricted passage and unimpeded access throughout the country, and, moreover, would "be immune from the Parties' jurisdiction in respect of any civil, administrative, criminal or disciplinary offenses."

"Belgrade, feeling like they were being asked to accept terms of occupation and surrender, refused to sign the agreement…NATO then treated this rebuff as a casus belli: after the Serbian government definitively rejected the ultimatum thrust before them in the document, the alliance began missile and bomb strikes in Yugoslavia on March 24, 1999."

NATO's 78-day air war, the journalist recalled, killed almost 2,000 civilians, with another 10,000 seriously injured, and inflicted tens of billions of dollars in damage, destroying dozens of factories, 48 hospitals, 70 schools, 18 kindergartens, 9 university buildings, 82 bridges, 35 churches, and 29 monasteries. The bombing, which wasn't approved by the UN Security Council, employed cluster bombs and shells plated with depleted uranium, causing a spike in cancer rates throughout the region.

"On February 12, 2016, the Serbian parliament ratified a new agreement with NATO that included terms very similar to those demanded in Rambouillet 17 years ago. In other words, the bar that Belgrade considered to be 'set to high' at the end of the 20th century, and which they could not accept even at the cost of war, has now been accepted –little by little, unobtrusively, and without complaint – over the past decade by Serbia's new leaders."

Over 10,000 Participate in Anti-NATO Rally in Serbia - Organizer (VIDEO)This agreement, Belous writes, was signed in September 2015, and granted NATO logistical support staff the right to freely throughout Serbia, and to access public and private facilities. It also allowed for cargoes to be exempted from customs duties and taxes, and for personnel to be granted diplomatic immunity. Receiving almost no media coverage when it was signed, "alarm bells only went off for the public after it was ratified in February 2016."

"Responding to popular discontent and criticism from his opponents, Prime Minister Aleksander Vucic asked, 'if we're going to demand that NATO protect Serbs in northern Kosovo, how can we at the same time not allow it to enter northern Kosovo?' But in fact, this rhetorical question is nonsensical (and not just because NATO has its own airfields in Kosovo as well as Camp Bondsteel, the second-largest American base in Europe)."

NATO, Belous noted, has never played any role in protecting Serbian interests in Kosovo. In fact, he writes, "after NATO troops entered Kosovo, approximately 210,000 people were forced to leave (according to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees), and over 300 Serbs were killed and 455 went missing just during the five-month stay of the international peacekeeping force. Furthermore, during the infamous pogrom that took place March 17-19, 2004, NATO representatives passively allowed Albanian extremists to burn over 900 Serb homes and set fire to, severely damage and desecrate 35 Orthodox monasteries (many of which date back to the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries and some even under the protection of UNESCO), and to expel over 4,000 Serbs from the area."

"Serbian leaders never tire of assuring their citizens that they have no aspirations to join the NATO Alliance. 'Serbia has no plans to enter NATO, it wants to be militarily neutral', Prime Minister Vucic said March 2, 2016, commenting on opposition parties' demands that a referendum be held on the issue."

"The head of the government does not think there is any need for the public to vote on the matter. And it's true that the people's will would be easy to predict, because according to the latest public surveys, conducted in January and February, only 10.5% of Serbians support the idea of NATO membership, while 79.1% are opposed (10.4% declined to answer). A recent study by IPSOS revealed a similar pattern: only 7% hold a positive opinion of the alliance."

This, the journalist explains, is why President Tomislav Nikolic rushed to sign the NATO logistics agreement on February 19, "a day before a scheduled protest to demand its veto. After thousands of prosecutors flocked to an anti-NATO rally in Belgrade on February 20, President Nikolic published an article titled 'Why I Signed the NATO Law'…Overall the article resembles an attempt to shift the bulk of the responsibility for the rapprochement with the alliance onto the shoulders of previous administrations," including a discussion on the agreement to join the NATO Partnership for Peace program.

The roots of Serbia's pro-Western shift, Belous recalls, go back to the 'Bulldozer Revolution' of October 2000, when President Slobodan Milosevic, with Washington's support, was deposed. "The new government quickly redirected the country's foreign policy toward the ideal of European integration – which meant that Serbia was then predestined for assimilation into Europe's security architecture, which is tightly bound to NATO."

Serbia EU Entry Hinges on Compliance With Political CriteriaA string of defense-related agreements were signed, the first in July 2005, allowing NATO forces transit for its peacekeeping operations. In 2014, Serbia and NATO signed a Status of Forces Agreement, allowing NATO to use Serbian military infrastructure, "to bring the legal framework regulating defense into line with EU rules, and to introduce the standards of NATO and the Bologna Process into the military education system for Serbian officers."

"The next step was the operational document known as the Individual Partnership Action Plan, which lays out a broad spectrum of cooperation between Serbia and the NATO alliance – not only in regard to security and defense, but also pertaining to issues of human rights, and economic, domestic and foreign policy, including the prospect of European integration. Paradoxically, Serbia has even pledged to 'introduce a public information strategy on cooperation with Euro-Atlantic structures through the PfP with the aim of gaining public support', which means that Serbian taxpayers must shell out from their own pockets to pay for propaganda directed against them."

Ultimately, Belous notes, "the above documents, in addition to the recent Logistical Support Agreement, so firmly tie Belgrade to the alliance that no particular purpose would be served by officially joining it… As Dorde Vukadinovic, editor in chief of the magazine New Serbian Political Thought, aptly put it, 'although Serbia has not officially entered NATO, NATO has effectively entered Serbia.'"

Meanwhile, the journalist suggests, leaders' continued public opposition to the alliance has actually served to "lull Moscow's vigilance," and "allowed [them] to preserve their reputation and maintain the image of being 'Russophiles' in the eyes of voters."

"Yet at the same time, and despite the escalating Euro-Atlantic propaganda, Russia's popularity in Serbia is growing, and the idea of the 'European choice' is gradually losing its devotees. This was backed up by recent polling by IPSOS: in 2014, 54% of Serbs would have voted in favor of EU membership, but by early 2016, that number had dropped to 48%; and while 46% of respondents expressed a positive opinion of Russia in 2014, this year that number has risen to 72%."

US Army soldiers of the 4th Infantry Brigade, Combat team (Airborne) 25th Infantry Division, part of the NATO-led peacekeeping mission in Kosovo listen to jump master how to prepare their gear for a parachute training exercise in US military base Camp Bondsteel, near the village of Sojeve in Kosovo on Sunday, Dec. 21, 2014

A survey conducted by the Vreme weekly news magazine showed similar results, with 50.9% in favor of European integration, and 67.2% in favor of 'an alliance with Russia'.

"Finally, according to the most recent study conducted by the Serbian Center for Free Elections and Democracy, an NGO funded by Western foundations and states, on the eve of [Sunday's] snap parliamentary elections, 71.6% of Serbs were against the idea of 'Serbian membership in the EU and NATO' (with 11.2% 'in favor' and 14% 'undecided'), and 55.2% indicating their preference for 'the traditional affiliation with Russia' (with 19.2% 'against' and 21.5% 'undecided')."

This trend, Belous suggests, "has caused panic in the ranks of Serbia's Euroatlanticists," who blame Russia for attempting to "stop Serbia in its process of democratization, stabilization, and move toward European integration." In fact, European countries, and particularly Germany, have done their best to keep out any form of Russian influence, including continued delays in granting the Russian-Serbian Humanitarian Center in Nis diplomatic status.

In the final analysis, the journalist notes, Serbian officials "continuing to chant the phrase 'military neutrality' at every opportunity, like a mantra," doesn't make this the reality that the country faces. Not only does the NATO Logistical Support Agreement stand to invalidate Serbia's neutral status in the event of war, but "the very idea of EU integration presumes a 'common policy toward security and defense' – which is somewhat inconsistent with euphemisms such as 'military neutrality'."

"The new government that will be formed after the April 24 elections won't have it easy: the rapidly growing estrangement between the Euro-Atlantic community and Russia means that Belgrade will eventually emerge as a geostrategic fault line. When, figuratively speaking, the earth begins to shift under the feet of the Serbian elite, no virtuoso 'geopolitical splits' will allow them to avoid answering the question – whose side are they on?", Belous concludes.

The Panepirotic Federation of America vehemently condemns the brutal destruction by Albanian authorities on August 26 of a Greek Orthodox Church in the Chimara region of the former Communist nation that once prohibited all forms of religious worship. The Church of St. Athanasius in the town of Drymades, known in Albanian as Dhermi, was completely destroyed by government agents acting on the authority of Albania’s Interior Ministry.

Petitioning European Council

The land in Himara belongs to the people of Himara! Land and property registration NOW! Signe now this petition to the European Councile, for the registration of properties to the only and single eligible owner: the PEOPLE of Himara.

Himara Community of USA, Addresses Himarra Property Issues with US State Department / Ambassador

The Honorable John F. Kerry Secretary of State U.S. Department of State Dear Mr. Secretary: We are writing to inform you of issues affecting United States citizens who have vested interests in the municipality of Himarra, Albania, and to express our concern about their long outstanding and unresolved problems regarding property rights. Over 1500 US citizens of Himarrioton descent are disenfranchised of their rights to the ownership of their family properties which were confiscated in 1945 by the communist regime. They have been attempting to claim their family properties since the end of the communist period without success due to the laws and policies of the Albanian government which a) fail to address ownership rights of pre-1945 landowners, b) fail to address the rights of owners who were forced to emigrate to the United States for economic or political reasons, and c) fail to address the rights of those with dual citizenship who have attempted to claim their properties as Albanian citizens.

Opinion - Kisha Autoqefale dhe Greqia! (14 tetor 2013)

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Officially: Omonoia, In Albania over 300.000 Greeks declared

30 % or 86,000, are declared electronically and this process includes 85 % of the members of the Greek minority Vlora Prefecture is the mostly populated by Greeks, there are about 90. 000 Greeks. TIRANA - Democratic Union of the Greek Ethnic Minority, Omonoia publishes the results of the census of members of the Ethnic Greek Community, organized by it structures. The Prime Census, was the decision of the General Council of the organization as members argued for exclusion of the Greek minority in the months Census October 2011, organized by the Institute of Statistics .

The history of elections of the Albanian dictator, to terrorize the people of Himara

A special Edition by SManalysis December 2, 1945: The Himariotes, abstaining from communist referendum, as happens usually for Himara the Albanian historians, never wrote this tragic history. Nikos Koutoulas, who boldly told the special communist court: "I'm Greek . I do not know Albanian, get me a interpret!" Still now, Albania never hold free politic elections, including Himara Municipality

Albanian Writer Raises Storm in Kosovo

Kosovo officials have rounded on Albanian writer Fatos Lubonja for saying that the political elites in both countries turned a blind eye to the crimes of the Kosovo Liberation Army, KLA. Besar Likmeta BIRN Tirana Albanian writer Fatos Lubonja In the article published in the May edition of the magazine Sudosteuropa, Lubonja focused on the reaction of Albania’s political class to the acquittal of the former KLA commander and Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj by the Hague Tribunal. Lubonja wrote that following Haradinaj’s release, the elite in Pristina and Tirana celebrated him as a hero, despite having enough information that the charges brought by prosecutors in the Hague were correct.

As long as human rights and civil liberties are violated in Himara Region primarily property, Greec

Himara Associations: Athens to block the status of Albania, if Tirana, does not solve the property issue Two associations based in Himara, "The Himara Community" and "Sea Coastal Association" have asked in a statement distributed to the media this afternoon that Greece "should block the candidate status for Albania" if Tirana, will not solve the problems of Human Rights and particularly the issue of the properties in Himara Region. The statement takes into consideration the visit Tirana following day of E.Venizelos the Greek Deputy Prime Minister also heads the Presidency of the European :

Albania minorities object to territorial division

Albania's civil society is calling on officials to diffuse tensions and protect minorities from discrimination and potential violence as a result of the decision to scrap the existing municipalities and create a new territorial administration. The government reduced the 384 local government units to 65, effectively creating entirely Albanian-majority municipalities. Greek, Macedonian and other minority representatives said the government's move violates their rights and international norms.

Poll: Albania, the most racist country in Europe

An international survey data from the World Value Survey collected and processed by the Washington Post reveals that Albania is the most racist country in Europe and worldwide more racists. The survey attempts to make a connection between economic development and being tolerant inside a society with ethnic crashes.. Thus, the most tolerant countries in the world are the Nordic countries, Great Britain and some of its former colonies, the United States, Canada and Australia. Countries with high tolerance are also in Latin America, where Venezuela exception.

Fatos Lobonja: Albania needs formatting not to rebirth

Fatos Lobonja, in an interview for the program "PULS" the KohaVision in Kosovo, there appeared criticism of developments in Albania. According Lubonja Albanians as a society still can not be consolidated. The reasons, according to him, are corrupt Albanian political elites on all sides, inside and abroad. He said they did not thirst for power leaves organize and move forward. Edi Rama's arrival at the head of government, according Lubonja, will not change the image of Albania, because Rama is associated with the oligarchs and organized crime. " He should answer that elite and non-citizens of Albania ", Lobonja estimates.

Nicholas Gage: Athens to give soon the Greek citizenship for thousand north epiriotes

World Council delegation of Epirus Abroad, meeting with the Ministry of Interior for the vote of northern epiriotes and the resolve the pension problem The visit of Nicholas Gage, is considering as the latest diplomatic effort of USA lobbing, for implementation of the "Protocol of Corfu" agreement, between Albania and Greece, based on the ulterior escalation in Balkan region. The Delegation of the World Council of Foreign Relation of Epirus (PSIE) headed by the Honorary President Nicolas Gkatzogianni, had a working meeting with the Greek Interior minister Stylianidis and v/ minister Syrigos.

Himariotes, lobbying in USA, for Autonomy

A group of people of Himara, with American citizenship, are lobbying to the US Congress and the State Department, that the Himara Region, receive the right for autonomy, according to international historical right to his self-determination. Proposed to merge all associations operating in USA, Greece and Albania, to be united in a single purpose: Autonomous Himara, Movements in the Balkans geopolitical, Mitrovica case, cutting pension from Greece, scarce public investment, robbery and illegal registration of property, etc., have raised a great concern, as never in the recent relationship of Himara, Albanian and Greek state relationship.

Pyrros Dimas, meeting with the Greek Minister of Labour, for problem of pensions to the Northern Ep

- Initiative of MP of PASOK, Pyrros Dimas for preparing and drafting a legislative proposal in collaboration with representatives of the Northern Epirus organizations. - The Minister agreed on the need to find a solution and urged the Member to develop concrete proposals, and that after consultation with the Secretary of the New Republic, Manolis Kefaloyiannis will be submitted jointly to the Minister of Finance.

"Kakome Case" again to the Albanian Tribunals

The Greek Community continues to "constant war" with the Albanian government to protect property. The apathy of Athens, to respond to the robbery of the properties in just the time, that OSCE, under the process of the registration of property in Ionian Coast, from European taxpayers, without any trasparence, is favoring according to Albanian law, alienation of property, of the Greek community , with the false documents.

Berisha: albanophobia threatens inter region

Berisha: "We must accept that they are the only people who live in 5 states. A nation that is unjustly divided into 5 states, a nation that wants to look to a common future. But again albanophobia is still in action " Albanian Prime Minister for the second time, threatening Greece, claiming that Albanians in Greece, should join the Albanian state.

NORTHERN EPIRUS THROUGH THE CENTURIES(LECTURE OF VASILIOS KYRANIS, Harvard University -1981) AL

Christos Pappas, in an interview with Arthur Zhei, News 24 TV

Pappas: "Northern Epirus is a region that holds arbitrary from Albania, as recognized by the great powers, the Protocol of Corfu. The Law of War against Albania, can not remove from Papoulias nor Greek parliament, but the Greek army is ready to liberate the Northern Epirus, again

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After a life threatening message to Archbishop Janullatos

42 Orthodox clergy against census and Red & Black Alliance: Janullatos has not afraid of death 42 Tirana archdiocese Orthodox clergy have reacted with a joint statement in defense of Anastasios Yannoulatos. Their attitude comes after strong reactions against the Red & Black Alliance, for Archbishop and after a census that sees Orthodox in third place in terms of religion in the country.

Albania: 100 years, Berisha plays 'great Albania' trump card

In Tirana Albanian leaders, tensions with Macedonia 28 November, 10:49 (ANSAmed) - TIRANA, NOVEMBER 28 - Albania's black and red national flag with a double-headed eagle is waving across the country which is celebrating today its 100th anniversary of independence in a tense political climate. The centre-right Premier Sali Berisha has been calling for days for an ethnic-national unification of all Albanians living in different Balkan states, in efforts to revive a strong nationalism which is rejected by Albania's opposition.

The Official Site of The Himara Community

CONTINUES THE DEBATE IN WASHINGTON D.C. FOR THE PROPERTY RIGHTS OF AMERICAN CITIZENS FROM NORTHERN

According to the Greek organisation of Albania estimates there are thousands of Greek American citizens from Northern Epirus (Southern Albania) which is refering the Journalist Lambros Papantoniou, asking the Spokesman of State Department for the rights of American citizens with Greek origin to take their properties in Southern Albania. Papantoniou is refereeing a Memo between Albanian State and USA about the civil rights especially for the properties of American citizens who are interested to take them according to Albanian Constitution and laws the properties of family generation. This is the second debate of the veteran Journalist for Balkan Issues in State Department Lambros Papantoiou who accuses over all the Sali Berisha Regim in Albania supported by the President Bush.

A Response to AFP

SManalysis Orthodox churches of Albania, are Byzantine churches, belong to the property of the population of Epirus.....

Avramopoulos`s speach during NATO meeting

Greece threatens Albania blocking the integration process after Berisha's statements Greek Foreign Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos, has expressed his concern at the NATO ministerial meeting about rising tide of nationalism in Albania and premature declarations of the government. In a press release the Greek Foreign Ministry said that "the growth of nationalism and populism in some of our neighboring countries is a source of great concern."

The U.S. talk of "change of borders in the Balkans"

Message-warning sent to Albania by the U.S. representative to the State Department, which in a statement said that any change of borders in the Balkans "would be counterproductive and destabilizing," but the issue is that for the first time put the U.S. even and negative mood on any change of borders in the Balkans ...

INUK në Vlorë, pronarët: Me dokumenta të rregullta dhe leje ndërtimi

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GREEK NEWS FROM NIKO`S BLOG

PREMIUM, THE GREEK TRASFORMATION

The "Kissinger Plan": Confederations Macedonia, Epirus, Thrache,

THE BIG CHANGE IN PERIVOLO, DRYMADES, HIMARA REGION

Dhermi, (Drymades, Himara Region) between natural beauty and destruction Look at those videos, before in 2010, everything natural and in 2012 the differences, the big changes how are divided Mafia plots, see whose investments are shown, with the camera of a sportsman parachute, in Long Beach "Perivolo" in Dhrymades, the Himara Region. Look at how this summer 2012, the Concessions of Mafia provided by The Himara Counsil Municipality and the Government of Albania, have become a reality. The Sand Beach Drymades, is transformed in the sidewalks and kiosks. See how they are transformed Dhermi, in a few years, in an administrative center, disrupting also balance the religious and ethnic composition of himariotes.

Robert Elsie: If I would live in Albania, it would be crazy. It is the same as in Ottoman times

After known albanolog Milan Shufla, Robert Elsie is the best conteproranean albanian albanolog in the World During his intereweu on "Top Channely TV, Robert Elsie, on his first interview on TV. expresed his story about Albanian and Albanian state in 100 years. An interesting tale scholar known for his work difficulties in view of the Albanian language. Elsie, who knows Albanians for years, amounts to a chilling conclusion. He says he will not ever live in Albania, as it will go mad. "I can not live here. It's a little wild for me, the relationships between people are a bit wild. I know that is just a facade that inside have good spirit, but have a rabies in human relations. You know how to protect yourself here, and here I am like a rabbit, he can not defend myself. I come here with pleasure, but do not believe they can afford to come and live here forever. There is much frustration of everyday life. Life is too short and I do not have time to bump into obstacles, only to achieve something, when in another country and get away and then live my life, "said Elsie to Albanian. And while Enver Hoxha's Albania as compared with that of Sali Berisha, adds: "There is something that depends only on the party, it's more the attitude of the people. So to get something going, you have to know someone in the Ministry, to drink coffee with, then drink coffee again next week with even a third time, and then he connects with the person that you are interested . That is the same as in Ottoman times, not like a normal country. ".

Separatists gaining ground in Europe

Greece, is going to Plan B: grant for 600 thousand Greek citizenship, at the Consulates

Failure of the Census in Albania, apparently, has forced Athens, put in place, going to Plan B to its foreign policy, grant citizenship to all Hellenic Community of Northern Epirus (Greek passports) through three Greek consulates in Albania. According to “The Albanian newspaper Gazeta Shqiptare”, in a statement issued by the Greek Consul in Argjirokaster, Nikolaos Kotroxois, will begin soon, giving the Greek passports to Albanian citizens of Greek descent, who have applied for years. The decision is taken, after Athens, has used all diplomatic sources to have to Tirana, the same wavelength, particularly in geopolitical matters, particularly Kosovo. In his statement, the Greek Foreign Minister Stavros Dimas, noted, that Tirana, continues to show towards Greece, feeling not sincere cooperation, while simultaneously calling for the right to self-determination of the Greek community in Albania.

BERISHA: GREATER ALBANIA, WE LOST TERRITORIES

he Albanian Prime Minister held a meeting with Prishtina University students, in which he argued why he is against the unification of Albania with Kosovo and why both countries would lose, if borders would be changed. “The vital interest of the Albanians is to preserve the current borders, and the Albanians should not accept, at any cost, to lose a single square meter of the land they are entitled to. Another redraw of the borders would mark undeserved losses of the Albanian territories. We must be patient, free, and should not undertake any action that threatens territorial losses. Every generation has to make its duty, and this generation made it”, Berisha declared.

Dimas:"The Greek ethnic Community in Albania has the right of free of charge self-determination"

The reliability of the results of population census in Albania, in terms of minority groups, directly challenging the foreign minister Stavros Dimas, diaminyontas same time that the Respect for human and minority rights is … crucial criterion for the progress of the accession method of our neighbor. In a letter sent to the Home in response to a question from a Member of LA.OS K. Aivaliotis, Dimas says that “the foreign ministry has closely followed all the developments surrounding the census in Albania, even though produced timely plays, both bilateral and European level to make sure the integrity process and unimpeded registration of members of the Greek National Minority, and each location of residence of such ». As outlined, the “Selection of the representatives of the main minority groups, including the Greek National Minority, invite their members to abstain in protest not guaranteed to respect the right of free of charge self-determination, showed a significant deficit of trust minority in the Albanian state, which ought to itself the Albanian government to address priority ».

The Constitutional Court Decision on December 1, the Latter abolished the term Ethnic certificate of Its Citizens. In the Decision, panels argues why the notion of "nationality" is incompatible with the constitution When Its state charter law does not provid a clear definition of Its meaning. In Assessing the Court, "nationality" as defined concept without, unlike Other components of civil law does not Create a link that 'translates the Mutual rights and duties of Natural Persons and state.

While the total population in Himara Municipality, does not exceed 12 thousand inhabitants, a source from the prosecution of Vlora, shows that the problems of ownership at the squirrels region have reached the 7500 court proceedings and special investigations, which marks a world record, by how a country like Albania, could not manage the right of ownership, in one of the areas attacked by the Albanian mafia and international. However, the U.S. Department Report for 2004 on human rights in Albania, states clearly that in the Himara Municipality, the community lands and the Orthodox Church, was robbed by a Courts with false documents, supported by the Office of Propetry Registration in Albania.

Arben Puto: Albania has declared war against Greece first

In his book "The Italian Greek War", Arben Puto, well known historian of the era of dictatorship in Albania, writes that: "In a unanimous decision of the Albanian Parliament on July 15, 1940, was ratified, the Italian Fascist royal decree, which declared all war allies France and Britain, including the USA and Greece. So need to Albanians, to be aware that Greece was not declared war Albania, but Albania, with military battalions that attacked Greece on 28 October 1940 ".

WB returns to Ionian Riviera residence reconstruction

Another World Bank project is being executed with the help of the Albanian authorities for the reconstruction of the residences in Albania’s southern coastline. The 625.000 USD project aims to protect and promote the values of the Albanian national architecture in the Southern part of the country, in order to prevent destruction and abandonment of the traditional houses. “Shqip” newspapers says that the Ministry of Public Works is the WB partner in the “Roofs and Facades” project. The implementation of the program has started in the villages classified as participators: Dhermi i Vjeter, Qeparo i Vjeter, Ilias, Vuno, Himare e Vjeter, Piqeras, Nivice and Luksht. The World Bank will finance 70% of the restauration cost, with a maximum of 7000 USD, while the program “Accommodation and Breakfast” will finance 50 of the restoration cost, with a maximum of 5,000 USD. The program “Roofs and Facades” aims to restore 72 houses in 18 months. 20 of them will adopt with the conditions of modern life, in the framework of the program “Accommodation and Breakfast”.

In Albania, at 20 years post-dictatorship, 8 thousands murders, for the issue of property

The shocking data, are given by the Prosecutor General, to the Albanian press Shocking facts which, in the wake of Albania rank Civil War, the high level of killings, including the year 1997 Through the Albanian press, Attorney General, has published shocking facts about the increasing number of murders in Albania, especially for issues of ownership. Clic on photo ....

Himara 26 centuries, a history of glorious Independence

HIMARA, THE NEXT MONTE CARLO`S IN EPIRUS

First step to Greater Albania: Kosovo Opens First Highway Section

A 38 kilometre-tranche of the road, which will eventually cross the country from the Albanian to Serbian border, was opened on Saturday. The first section, which runs from Vermica on the Albanian border to close to the town of Suhareka, cost 330 million euro. Senior Kosovo and Albania government officials were present at the inauguration ceremony. In a speech, Kosovo’s President Atifete Jahjaga said that the "highway has the role of linking nations and countries". "It is our link with important European corridors. Our coordinated policy will make us a free and equal members of the European Union," she added. Named the "Ibrahim Rugova Highway", after Kosovo's most famous president, the road connects with Albania's first highway, which was also built by the Turkish-American consortium Bechtel-Enka.

George Goro: Registration of properties on the southern coast of Albania faces difficulties

The process of registration of property in southern coastal areas of Albania is getting quite difficult. Mayor George Himara Goro says it has so far only completed the registration of houses and land but not land. Problems with documentation and the implementation of the Land Law difficult, according to him, residents in this process.

The Monument of Independence of Albania, is in hassle

PDIU Cam Community Party, the Socialist Party's local leader in Vlora, and "Red & Black Alliance", are making a nationalistic competition, the Monument of Independence and the Albanian national flag. Few days ago, Prime Minister Sali Berisha, said the establishment of a new monument to the independence of Albania in Tirana, implying, dismiss the historical tradition of Albanian independence in Vlora.

Himarrioton Society of America

The Himarriotans of America, motivated by the love of Himarra, the land of their native origin, and dedicated to the noblest ideals of their forfathers, have established this organization which aspires to the cultivation and preservation of Himarriotic culture in America, to making a positive difference in the lives of its members, and to promoting the rights and interests of the Himarriotans in Himarra, through the realization of patriotic, charitable, philanthropic, educational and cultural endeavors.

Opinion in Kosovo: "Socialists in Albania, are filo Greek"

The Chairman of the Opposition in Albania, Edi Rama, accused by the press in Kosovo that "he is with filo Greek sentiments" If, Sali Berisha, Albania's current prime minister, is expected both in Macedonia and Kosovo, as president of the Albanian nation, this has not happened with the chairman of the opposition in Albania, Edi Rama. During a recent visit to Kosovo, Edi Rama is unpopular, the fact that the perception of public opinion in Kosovo, is that the south, is the area close to Greece, but especially Rama and the Socialist Party, was accused of holding a position filo Greek, against the interests of Greater Albania.